Critiquing Pope Francis

Is being discussed over at the always interesting The American Catholic.  Donald McClarey points to Amy Welborn, one of the pioneers of the Catholic Blogosphere Apologetics World.  She was there before I ever stumbled by.  Since Mark Shea gave her more than a few thumbs up, and his was the first Catholic Blog (in fact, first Blog) I ever visited or commented on, that was enough for me.  I have always found her writings to be of a sincere kind, the approach one takes when trying to sort things out or open up for real dialogue.

Unfortunately, for reasons not altogether clear to me, the pontificate of Pope Francis seems to have been one big fistfight.  I do think part of it is his style.  But I can't blame all of it on that.  After all, people don't have to duke it out just because the pope communicates in a certain way.  But even though I've only been Catholic for 10 years, and have only been looking into the Church for about 16 or 17 years, this is about as divisive and partisan as I've witnessed.

I know, Jesus came to bring a sword as much as peace on earth.  But that's Jesus.  There's a certain hubris attached to the idea  that I can finally go to war against those Catholics over there who have always been wrong for wanting to go to war against those other Catholics over there.  Something just ain't right. 

So Amy Welborn brings a great sense of balance and honesty when looking at how to approach the issue of not always agreeing with the current pope.  It's more than worth the read.  Follow the links.  Sit back.  Know that if you have concerns you're not automatically a pathetic Catholic who doesn't love Jesus.  Know that there is a right way and a wrong way to approach disagreements, as well as disagreements with those who disagree.  On that note, kudos to Andrew Pardue for some excellent insights regarding why Pope Francis might be misunderstood more than just to blame.  Not only good insights, but presented in a way that reminds us we're all in this together.